Don't Ever Turn Your Back On Sam Wyche

December 03, 1990|by TERRY LARIMER, The Morning Call

If Sam Wyche were playing tennis he'd serve while his opponent tied his shoes. Wyche would sneeze just when his golf partner was going to putt. Get in a duel with Wyche and you'd better turn at the count of nine. Maybe eight just to be safe.

Wyche has this thing called the "no huddle" offense that television commentators are fond of glorifying as the most revolutionary idea since the forward pass. "Innovative" is the word they use to describe what Wyche has his Cincinnati Bengals do. A better -- and shorter --word is "cheat."

He has his team huddle up near the line of scrimmage so that his opponents can't substitute players between plays. If they try, his troops hurry up and snap the ball and catch their opponents with 12, 13, maybe 17 players on the field and get themselves a cheap 5-yard penalty. "Brilliant" is the word the TV folks use to describe Wyche's football mind. A better -- and longer -- word is "unprincipled."

And the National Football League lets him get away with it. Hey, NFL, how's this for an idea: How about if teams are allowed to kick off before the other team leaves the locker room? Don't let the New England Patriots in on this one, though. With a four or five-play head start even they might score before the other team gets on the field, providing, of course, they don't screw up the onside kick.

Wyche thinks only he has the right to get the players he wants in the game. Funny, but no other coach in the NFL seems ready to agree with him. No one else has stooped to his level.

Steelers coach Chuck Noll, one of Wyche's loudest critics, was asked if there is a gentleman's agreement among NFL coaches to allow each other to match substitutions. Noll, whose team was caught with an overload of personnel twice in its last confrontation with Wyche's "no huddle," said, "There are no gentlemen in this league."

After the time out, Pack quarterback Anthony Dilweg took the snap and the ball slipped through his hands. He recovered the slippery spheroid, but only after a 7-yard loss. "I couldn't believe it," Dilweg said. "I told the ref it was soaking wet."

Packers center Jim Campen said he noticed some pre-snap sogginess, but didn't know he was allowed to request a new ball. "I wasn't aware that I could," the four-year veteran said. "It was a rookie, fourth-year mistake. I guess I learned something new."

Dave Krieg wasn't even in the league the last time his Seattle Seahawks met the Buccaneers during the regular season so a wet ball can't be the reason he's closing in on the career record for most fumbles.

He dropped the ball five times last week in a win over the Chargers to move into third place on the all-time list of ball bobblers with 98. He needs seven more cases of dropsy to match Roman Gabriel and move into second place. He needs nine to overtake all-time fumbler Dan Fouts, whose uniform number wasn't, but probably should have been, "WD 40."

With 12 fumbles this season, Krieg has the possibility of breaking his own NFL record of 18 single-season fumbles within his -- for lack of a better word -- grasp.

Krieg has mastered another technique that the folks out in Seattle have dubbed his "soapdish" throws. This strange phenomenon occurs when his arm goes forward while the ball goes backward. It's attributed to Krieg's relatively small hands.

He said he'd like to change his bobbling ways, but thinks its would effect his style. He said, "I've got to be more conscious of the way I'm protecting the ball. But if you're doing that then you're not ready to throw. It takes away from your natural ability to make plays." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And speaking of an inability to make plays, Vince Evans may have to take over for Jay Schroeder as quarterback of the faltering Raiders this week.

Evans, pretty much of a bust in earlier stops with the Bears of the NFL and the Chicago Blitz and Denver Gold of the old USFL, understated, "I certainly wasn't expecting to be the starter when I came to camp this year."